Kunduz

Kunduz
کندز
City
Kunduz

Location in Afghanistan

Coordinates: 36°43′43″N 68°52′5″E / 36.72861°N 68.86806°E / 36.72861; 68.86806Coordinates: 36°43′43″N 68°52′5″E / 36.72861°N 68.86806°E / 36.72861; 68.86806
Country  Afghanistan
Province Kunduz Province
District Kunduz District
First mention 329 BC
Elevation 391 m (1,283 ft)
Population (2012)[1]
 • City 268,893
 • Urban 268,893
Time zone Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+4:30)
Climate BSk

Kunduz (/kʊnduːz/ Pashto: کندز‎; Persian: کهن دژ‎‎) is a city in northern Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Kunduz Province. It is sometimes spelled as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz.

The city of Kunduz has a population of about 268,893,[2] while Kunduz District has a population of 304,600.[1] It is about the 5th largest city of Afghanistan.

Kunduz is located in the historical Tokharistan in the region of Bactria. It is linked by highways with Mazar-e Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Sher Khan Bandar to the north. Kunduz is at an elevation of 391 metres (1,283 ft) above sea level.

The land use of the city (within the municipal boundary) is largely agricultural (65.8% of total area). Residential land comprises nearly half of the 'built-up' land area (48.3%) with 29,877 dwellings.[3] Institutional land comprises 17.9% of built-up land use, given that the airport is located within the municipal boundary[3]

Etymology

The name of the city is derived from Persian compound, kuhan/quhan diz, "old/ancient fort" or from Turkic konak/konut ("residence, palace, court, housing, established dwelling area, city, town, village"), from Proto-Turkic *kon-, "to settle down/to perch." Alternative derivations also include Turkic kündüz ("day, daylight"), from Proto-Turkic kün, "day/sun".

Interestingly, until the 1960s, the city served as the capital to the now-defunct province of Qataqan, itself meaning "Old/Ancient city" (from Turkic kata ("old/ancient') and Eastern Iranian (Sogdian) kand or Common Turkic kent, "fort", "town").

History

Kunduz is the site of the ancient city of Drapsaka. It was a great center of Buddhist learning and very prosperous during the 3rd century AD.

The city used to be called Walwalij[4] (or Varvarliz) and the name Kuhandiz began to be used from the Timurid time.

In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the capital of a rather large eponymous, sometimes independent, sometimes autonomous Uzbek-Tajik khanate that in 1820s encompassed land from Balkh to the Pamir Mountains. It was part of The Great Game between the British and Russians. This khanate was finally destroyed by Afghanistan in 1859. Between one hundred and two-hundred thousand Tajiks and Uzbeks fled the conquest of their homeland by Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan.[5]

In the early 20th century, under the governance of Sher Khan Nasher, Kunduz became one of the wealthiest Afghan provinces. This was mainly due to Nasher's founding of the Spinzar Cotton Company, which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan.

Kunduz is the most important agricultural province which produces wheat, rice, millet, and other products and obtained the nickname of "the hive of the country."

Kunduz is the centre for the north east provinces, and was the stronghold of the Taliban during its regime. It was the last major city held by the Taliban before its fall to US-backed Afghan Northern Alliance forces on November 26, 2001. The city is strategically important because it is the only way connecting Takhar province and Badakhshan provinces, which play a critical role in the existing government.

During the summer of 2015, the Taliban and Afghan forces battled for control of the city. Tens of thousands of inhabitants were displaced internally in Afghanistan by the fighting.[6][7][8] On 28 September 2015 the Taliban flag was again raised in the city center and the Taliban managed to capture the city prison and free many prisoners.[9][10]

Climate

Kunduz has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is generally low except from January to April, with summers almost always rainless.

Climate data for Kunduz
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.2
(70.2)		 25.0
(77)		 32.8
(91)		 38.9
(102)		 42.2
(108)		 46.2
(115.2)		 45.3
(113.5)		 44.2
(111.6)		 39.2
(102.6)		 39.4
(102.9)		 28.4
(83.1)		 21.6
(70.9)		 46.2
(115.2)
Average high °C (°F) 6.3
(43.3)		 9.5
(49.1)		 15.8
(60.4)		 23.0
(73.4)		 29.8
(85.6)		 37.3
(99.1)		 39.0
(102.2)		 36.9
(98.4)		 31.8
(89.2)		 24.5
(76.1)		 16.0
(60.8)		 9.7
(49.5)		 23.3
(73.93)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.6
(34.9)		 4.4
(39.9)		 10.4
(50.7)		 17.2
(63)		 22.9
(73.2)		 29.3
(84.7)		 31.3
(88.3)		 29.2
(84.6)		 23.9
(75)		 16.9
(62.4)		 9.5
(49.1)		 4.4
(39.9)		 16.75
(62.14)
Average low °C (°F) −2.4
(27.7)		 -0.0
(32)		 5.7
(42.3)		 11.6
(52.9)		 15.7
(60.3)		 20.9
(69.6)		 23.3
(73.9)		 21.5
(70.7)		 16.3
(61.3)		 10.6
(51.1)		 4.1
(39.4)		 0.0
(32)		 10.61
(51.1)
Record low °C (°F) −22.7
(−8.9)		 −23.1
(−9.6)		 −11.8
(10.8)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 4.2
(39.6)		 12.5
(54.5)		 15.7
(60.3)		 12.6
(54.7)		 3.5
(38.3)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −9.8
(14.4)		 −20
(−4)		 −23.1
(−9.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 44.0
(1.732)		 56.5
(2.224)		 76.7
(3.02)		 54.4
(2.142)		 29.8
(1.173)		 0.1
(0.004)		 1.3
(0.051)		 0.3
(0.012)		 0.1
(0.004)		 7.3
(0.287)		 23.7
(0.933)		 28.4
(1.118)		 322.6
(12.7)
Average rainy days 5 6 11 10 9 1 1 0 0 3 5 6 57
Average snowy days 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14
Average relative humidity (%) 80 75 75 71 54 31 28 29 32 44 63 76 54.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 114.4 114.6 158.9 201.0 276.5 332.1 340.2 315.5 289.7 221.8 169.4 229.5 2,763.6
Source: NOAA (1958-1983) [11]

Demography

Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan

The city of Kunduz has a population of about 268,893,[2] while Kunduz District has a population of 304,600.[1] Ethnic Pashtuns make up the largest percent followed by Uzbeks, Tajiks, Arabs and a few others.[5][12][13]

The Kunduz Arabs speak Persian and Pashto, Afghanistan's two official languages, rather than Arabic. However, they claim a strong Arab identity, based on their tribes that originated in Arabia. This may in fact point to the 7th and 8th centuries migration to this and other Central Asian locales of many Arab tribes from Arabia in the wake of the Islamic conquests of the region. There are other such Arabs to the north and west, between Kholm, Mazar-e Sharif and Shibarghan.[14]

Administration

Kunduz city is divided into 8 Police Districts ('Nahias') with a total land area of 11,206 hectares.[2]

Kunduz Province is divided into six districts: Khan Abad, Ali Abad, Char Dara, Dashti Archi, Qala-e-Zal and Imam Sahib, plus Kunduz City. Kunduz has nine representatives in the lower house and two in the upper house and has a provincial council. The most influential leader of Kunduz was Arif Khan, who was a governor of Kunduz Province and was shot dead in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan in the year 2000. Soon after the incident his brother Haji Omar Khan took his responsibility and was appointed as the Governor of Kunduz (2000–01). In the Karzai administration, Haji Omar Khan was elected to be a representative of Kunduz Province in the Lower House (Wolasi Jirga) and at a time serve as an advisor minister to President Hamid Karzai.

Notable people

2015 capture by Taliban

On 28 September 2015, the Taliban attacked Kunduz from three sides and captured most of the city.[15] However, the Afghan Armed Forces are trying to retake it. Heavy fighting has occurred between the Taliban and Afghan military.[16] After 15 days the Taliban left the city. They announced that, after achieving their objectives, they have withdrawn from the city's center. Zabihullah mujahid, Taliban spokesperson, said that their main object in leaving the city is to avoid civilian casualties from air raids.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Settled Population of Kunduz province by Civil Division, Urban, Rural and Sex-2012-13" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  2. 1 2 3 "The State of Afghan Cities 2015". Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  3. 1 2 "The State of Afghan Cities 2015, Volume 2". Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  4. ↑ "Asien-Afrika-Institut". uni-hamburg.de.
  5. 1 2 Wörmer, Nils (2012). "The Networks of Kunduz: A History of Conflict and Their Actors, from 1992 to 2001" (PDF). Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. Afghanistan Analysts Network. p. 8. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  6. ↑ "Afghans counter Taliban offensive in northern Kunduz province". BBC News.
  7. ↑ "Taliban and Afghan Government Dispute Status of Kunduz". New York Times. 21 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Afghanistan: Taliban advance on key northern city". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ↑ "Taliban 'seize half' of Afghanistan's Kunduz city". www.bbc.com. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Afghan Taliban seize northern city center in major attack". Reuters. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  11. ↑ "Kunduz Climate Normals 1958-1983". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Kunduz Province" (PDF). Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. Naval Postgraduate School. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  13. ↑ "2003 National Geographic Population Map" (PDF). Thomas Gouttierre, Center For Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Matthew S. Baker, Stratfor. National Geographic Society. 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Barfield, T.J. (1981), The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan: Pastoral Nomadism in Transition, University of Texas Press, ISBN 9780292710665
  15. ↑ http://nytimes.com/2015/09/29/world/asia/taliban-fighters-enter-city-of-kunduz-in-northern-afghanistan.html?refer=
  16. ↑ "Afghan forces fight to retake Kunduz from Taliban". BBC News.
  17. ↑ http://bbc.com/news/world-asia-34520318

Further reading

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